OWH January Mid-Month Throwdown

It has been awhile since I was able to make a card for a challenge, not to mention make any cards for Operation Write Home.  So, it felt good to jump back into the both with this month's OWH Mid-month Throwdown with the theme "thank you".  Here is my card:

For me, this is about as CAS as I get.  Awhile back I die cut this tree (using a Spellbinders die) from paper that I had covered with Glimmer Mist.  I used the tree on another project, but liked the negative enough to hang on to it.  For this card I die cut the tree again out of a coordinating color and inserted it back into the negative space.  The whole image is popped up with Scotch Clear-Mounting tape.

Other supplies that I used are:

**paper from Gina K, Club Scrap and (I believe) Cricut.

**ribbon and brads both are from Club Scrap, and both are altered with Copic Markers.

**sentiment stamp from Club Scrap stamped with VersaMark ink, embossed with Zing embossing powder.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Playing Mad Scientist

Ok, so I was working on this card for my Brother-In-Law's birthday.  It was coming together quite easily until I wanted to emboss the greeting in a color that complimented the rest of the card.  Of all the embossing powders I have, nothing was going to work. Time to play "mad scientist" and try to alter some powder to get a color that worked.  (After all, I am altering stuff all the time to make it fit the colors of my projects).  So, I set about mixing Perfect Pearls powders into embossing powders.  After several attempts, I finally got a color that looked good, and would show up on the darker background (although I admit it could be a bit brighter for better contrast).  Oh, and I got to use an art orphan piece too!  Here is the finished card:

My final mixture for the embossing was using Zing Embossing Powder in Mustard, with a smidgen of Apricot (also Zing),and Cappuccino Perfect Pearls. Other supplies I used were:

**Paper from Gina K. Authentique, Club Scrap and I'm not sure about the brown.

**background stamp Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, image is Club Scrap, sentiment is The Stamps of Life

**Versa Mark & Destress Inks

**Ribbon is from Club Scrap, altered with Distress Marker

**The brown paper was cut using a die from Taylored Expressions

**I think the image was stamped with StazOn ink onto an art piece that used Club Scrap metallic re-inkers, then fussy cut.  I covered it with clear embossing powder to finish it off for this card. 

I highly recommend experimenting with your supplies to see if you can alter them to fit your needs.  It probably won't take the place of good ole' retail therapy, but it can be a lot of fun!

Thanks for stopping by!

OWH Top Cards of 2014 Bloghop

Happy New Year!  Operation Write Home is hosting a bloghop for cardmakers to showcase their top 14 cards of the year.  I have chosen my favorites to share with you here:

Looking back, I am grateful to find that 2014 was a good year for me creatively.  I learned new techniques, discovered new products, thought out side of the box a little more, and had even more fun making cards, scrapbook pages and other papercrafting projects.  I am excited to see what this year holds!  

If you would like to see other top cards of 2014, check out the links at our host Operation Write Home.  

Thanks for stopping by.  Wishing you a blessed and creative 2015!